Improvement in lasting-machines for boots and shoes



ZSheat's-SheetL. G. W. COPELAND.

LASTING MACHINES FOR BQOTS AND SHOES. No.18Z,560. Patented Sept.26,1876.

N. PETERS, PNDTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D, C,

ZShets-SheetZ. G. W. COPELAND.

' LASTING MACHINES FOR noows AND SHOES. No.18Z,5"60. Patented Sept.Z-6, 1876.

v I I Fig-8 UNITED STATES PATENT Orruon;

GEORGE W. COPELAND, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

'IMPROVEMENT IN LASTING-MACHINES FOR BOOTS AND SHO'E S.

Specification'forming part of Letters Patent No. 182.560tdated September 26, 1876 Tapplicatioh filed August 28,1876. 7

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it knownzthat I, GEORGE .W. COPELAND,

of Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State :of Massachusetts, have invented an .Im-

provement inLasting-Machines, of which the following is .a specification:

. Thisdnventionerelates tothat method of fitting. an upper to a last whichiemploysa straining or'smoothing, .or a combined straining and smoothing, action, commenced somewhere alonglthesides of a last, andcontinued toor uponnthe surfaceiof Ethe insole, or :employed in. fitting the upperntotthelast upon any desired area.

In previous applications-I have-shown and illustrated an effective. principle upon which the upper-may bestrained ontoand'over the last :by the useof agirth. Out of a studyof' this principle azmeth'od ofsuccessfully smoothing theupper .upontheilast by the operation of rolling surfacesrolling, and, to a certain extent, gradually liftingthe upper onto the 1ast,:or liftingit bytpadsior other contacting substances, either separately or in. combination. with agirth, as.hereinafterexplaine d has grown. a

' Reference is hadtto thezaccom pan yin g;drawing, forminga parttof.this'specitication, inexplainingithe same, in which- Figure 1 is a cross-section of my lasting-machine, showing theposition-ot' the lifting-pads relatively to the upper and lastbef0re the be ginning of the=lasting. Fig. .2shows the: position* of the lifting pads orrrolls when used .in

connection with independent lasting platesn Fig. 3 represents the position of the rolls;and.

last: beforethe rolls are lifted. Fig. 4 shows therollsclosed upon the surface of theiinsolez Fig. dis a plan of the liftingpadrdevice. Fig tishows the rollswith' a girth attached to their circumference. Plate.

in: laying the folds.

2.Fig 7 represents a'semi-cylindrical roll; or

rocking pad and its relation to the lastat the commencement of lasting. Fig. 8 shows;

their positionat the completion of; the lasting. Fig. 9 is a; plan of 1311618211116 Fig..l0=representsaroll operating in the hollow of a last between the instep and toe. Fig. 11 ista cross-section of a roll with a..flexible circumference. Fig. .12 represents, aroll with aconformedsurface.

The jaws A are provided with similar move mentsto those shown in my prior inventions, and shouldapproximate a pathparallel to the :sides of the last B from: the line wherethe smoothing and straining action commences to or above the bottom of the last, which is in- .verted, and from that'poin t may be provided preferably by the advance of independent fingersor plates D,.asshownin Fig.2.- The fingers'G are automatic in their adjustment to the varying conformation of the. sides of a last, being provided witha-transverse movement upon the jaws and the springs :12, which act to-forcethe fingers from the jaws against thelast.

1' widths of lasts, and supplemental fingers; may

1 beadded to effectan adjustment for increase iinlength. N l

I alsoshow the features of smoothing, or Zsmoothing in combination with a straining action, the upper upon the last in another form, as represented inFigs. 3 and 4. The jaws A hav-e substantially the same movements as'thosexof the jawsalready described, and the-fingersO areprovided with alike automatic adjustment .for variations in the sides of the, last s surface. They'are arranged at intervals upon. the jaws, and carry on their ends projecting toward the last theirolls E,

which contact with theiupper at any desirable distance below the. edge of the last,.and advance. over the sidesiof thesame-to orupon:

the surface of the insole, rolling out and.

smoothing thezupper toithe last as they moveupward,.and folding thetedge upon the insole by the closing movement of theijaws upon the same, as represented in Fig. 4. These rollsmay be. provided withxa roughened frictional surface, preferably of an ielasticor semiv elastic nature, such. as. rubber, rawhide, felt,

The jaws Aiare adjusted toand from the f-last to accommodatezextremevariations inithe,

leather, or canvas, substantially as shown in Fig. 11.

\Vhen it is desirable to obtain a straining action upon the upper, combined with a smoothing and rolling movement, I cause the rolls to revolve with limited freedom by restraining them sufficiently to cause a strain upon the upper. as above described. 4

In Figs. 3, 7, and 8 I show an adaptation of the rolling principle to shank lasting, and Figs. 9 and 10 show this modification employed as well upon the other portions of the sides of a last.

The semi-cylindrical rolls or rocking pads M are hung upon horizontal axes N, substantially parallel to the sides of the last, and are provided with a vertical movement upon the same. In the drawing, the axes N hat e a bearing on arms 0, and the said arms are pivoted to fall toward the last on block 1?, which is operated vertically on standards Q, by levers R. The levers are slotted at S, as shown, and engage with the pins T that project from the block P. The springs U bear against the arms 0, and serve to keep the rolls constantly pressing against the sides of the. last. Arranged to project from one edge of the rolls are the folding plates V, which operate in laying the margin of the upper upon the insole, in combination with the rolls, substantially as shown in Fig. 8.

In practical operation these rolls commence to act upon the last at any desired distance below the edge of the insole, and as they are lifted they turn upon the sides of thelast, and their peripheries being somewhat elastic or flexible, they conform to the surface of the last, to fit the upper to it, smoothing out the creases and wrinkles as they advance, and carrying the stretch and surplus upper to the surface of the insole.

In Figures 6 and 13 I show the combination of the rolls with the girth, by which a very good result can be obtained. The straps 2, instead of being fastened to the ends of lastingfingers, are secured to the periphery'of the rolls in such a way that the rising of the rolls releases the girth, while at the same time the rolls assist in the smoothing action, being adjusted to bear against the upper as they lift.

These rolls advance to, or nearly to, the centerline of the insole and act against the springs e, which cause the rolls to wind the finger-strap upon their circumferences as they. descend after thelasting of the upper.

A modification of I this combination of girth and rolls is represented in'Figs. l0 and 18, where the rolls are shown assisting the action of the girth, in the one case by the rolls op-' In Fig. 4: is seen a brake, 0, operating the purpose. 7 Their action on this part of they last secures the perfect fitting of the upper to the hollow in the last generally existing at that point.

The other view represents the rolls acting independently of the girth between the fingerstraps 2, vertically upon the sides of the last. This last arrangement is particularly adapted for lasting the shank.

Still another arrangement is shown in Fig. 13, where rolls are inserted between the girth and the sides of the last, in order that the girth may not bind upon the edges of the last and insole while operating upon areas more remote, the rolls here acting to prevent friction until they reach the edge of the insole, when the girth contacts with the sides of the last.

The operation of lasting is as follows: The upper is adjusted to thelast, which is mounted on the spindle. The jaws are caused to move upward, and a smoothing and rolling action, or a smoothing, rolling, and straining action,

as the case may be, is exerted upon the upper from a surface sufficiently distant from the" edge of the insole to remove all stretch in the upper, and fit the same tightly and smoothly to the last by the upward movement of the force employed, and by the continued advance of a folding device upon the surface of the insole.

The rolls, when employed, operate substantially as described, in rolling out and compressing the upper to the last upon any desired portion of its surface, and in any direc-i tion.

Of course I do not confine myself to the use" of rolls having cylindrical circumference or sections thereof, but propose to use a surface of any desired shape when the same is rocked upon any portion of the surface of a last in smoothing an upper thereto.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat- I ;ent

1. In a lasting-machine, the combination of the jaws A, having an upward movement, substantially parallel with the sides of a last, with the yielding elastic or flexible pads a, all arranged and operating substantially as de- ,scribed. 2. In a lasting-machine,the combination of jaws A and yielding elastic or flexible pads a, with an independent folding device arranged to close upon the insole, substantially as and for the purpose described.

- 3. In a lastingmachine, the combination of the jaws A with the rolls E, substantially as and for the purpose described. 1

stantially as and for the'purpose described.-

5. In a lasting-machine, the rolls E- adapted to operate upon the sides of the last in smoothing the upper upon the same, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination, in a lasting-machine, of the rolls E and a lasting-girth, 1, having its straps 2 attached to the periphery of said rolls, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a lasting-machine, the combination of a lasting girth or pads with one or more rolls, arranged to act conjointly in fitting an upper to a last, substantially as shown and described.

8. The rocking pad described, provided with a rolling surface and a folding projection, V, substantially as shown and described.

9. The combination, in a lasting-machine, of an arm, 0, having an upward movement substantially parallel to the last with the rocking pad M, substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. In a lasting-machine, a smoothing-roll,

operated transversely or longitudinally upon the under surface of the last, substantially as shown and described.

11. The combination, in a-lasting-machine,- of the rolls or rocking pads described, with described.

. GEO. W. COPELAND. Witnesses:

THos. WM. CLARKE, F. F. RAYMOND. 

